The Federal Communications Commission ("CFCC") has established a cordless telephone service in the 900 Mhz frequency band and has established rules regarding power levels for transmitters employed in such cordless telephone systems and spectrum spreading techniques (frequency hopping) depending on preestablished power levels. Under the rules established by the FCC, a first power level of a maximum of one milliwatt (50 .mu.v/m measured at 3 m) is established for single frequency operation of cordless telephone systems in the 900 Mhz band. If the transmitting power of each telephone unit does not exceed one milliwatt of power, a single frequency within the allocated frequency band may be used for communication between the base station and the remote unit.
If for reliable communication between the base station and the remote unit a power level exceeding milliwatt but less than a maximum of one watt is required, a spectrum spreading or "frequency hopping" technique must be employed to minimize interference with other devices using the frequency band.
A dilemma is presented which requires choices to be made as between low power single frequency operation of the cordless telephone system which might provide spectrum space for a larger number of simultaneous users of the frequency band or a high power spread spectrum technique which provides for reliable communication between the base station and the remote unit at greater distances but with the disadvantage that fewer users can reliably use the allocated frequency band without interference from the higher power transmissions. Further, the higher power transmissions in the spread spectrum technique may also cause interference to users employing a low power single frequency transmission system.